US Needs New Answers In The Middle East

[Purveyor]

On May 28, Barack Obama took to the stage before graduates at the West Point academy outside New York and set out a new vision for US foreign policy. It was a sweeping 5,000-word address fine-tuning his approach to military power, diplomacy, and America's place in the world. But there was a striking omission: the world's most intractable conflict. Obama made barely any mention of the cycle of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, despite the fact that his Secretary of State John Kerry had spent much of the past year trying to end it.

Barely two weeks after Obama's speech, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, followed by the suspected revenge murder of a Palestinian teen, set that cycle of violence rolling again. At the time of writing, well over 100 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, and hundreds of rockets have rained down on Israel. There is talk of a possible ground invasion of Gaza - even a third intifada by the Palestinians. The UN Security Council is calling for a ceasefire. The cycle of violence rolls on.

What now?

Where does this leave US policy? The White House's most strident critics don't see this latest flare-up as incidental to Kerry's efforts. Far from it: writing in the online Jewish magazine The Tablet, Lee Smith of the conservative Hudson Institute says the Obama administration shares the blame. "At a time of relative peace and quiet, the White House put the Israelis and Palestinians under the spotlight with a buzzer set to go off," he wrote. "Yet the most basic problem that Kerry faced was that neither side had any real faith in America's own commitment … All of the administration's Middle East policies pointed to the same thing: America wants out of the Middle East."

Should Kerry have let sleeping dogs lie? Was his peace push a misguided last gasp in the Middle East as the US sought to "pivot" to Asia - setting up dangerously unrealistic expectations? David Pollock of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy disagrees. "I think the opposite," he told DW. "On the contrary … I think it preserved the peace, or helped preserve it, for about a year - which, given the circumstances in the region, is not a small accomplishment."

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http://www.dw.de/us-needs-new-answers-in-the-middle-east/a-17782000

[Rod Beauvex]

1. I dunno.

I think the Middle East has been unstable for quite along time, and is slowly starting to fall apart. I really think this is 'the big one'. I don't care 'who started it'. It's now out of any sort of control.

On top of that, we've got problems at home we need to be focusing on, before we start trying to fix other places.

[Purveyor]

2. The wheels really started coming off the cart with our illegal invasion of Iraq.

We 'broke it ' and haven't a f'n clue now on how to fix it.

[JayhawkSD]

3. "neither side had any real faith in America's own commitment"

America's own commitment to what? The Israelis and the Palestinians are fighting each other. Did we start that fight? No. Do we have a dog in that hunt? No. Why is it our responsibility to do anything about this fight? Why is "America's commitment" necessary for either side to take steps toward ending the fight?

I guess it is praisworthy that we want to help, but when the two parties don't want help we should simply get the hell out of their way and let them do whatever they want to do. Letting them blame us for their own unwillingness to move toward peace is nonsense.

[Cartoonist]

4. We stuck our nose in it.

First, when we helped strong arm the UN into creating Israel. (good intentions)
Second, in the sixties when we came to their rescue when they were surrounded and about to be wiped out. Not a good thing, but what else could we do? Now we own the mess.

Palestine was never allowed to defend itself from the new world order. Israel has the right Palestine was never granted.
We keep sticking our nose in it because of OIL.

[JayhawkSD]

5. Good point.

Although I'm not sure our "defense" of Israel has to do with oil. I think it has to do with Jewisn votes in American elections.

Certainly Iraq, Saudi policy and a lot of other nonsense in the Middle East has to do with oil.

[Cartoonist]

7. You have to stretch it

While we don't depend on Israel for our oil, it falls under the heading of Regional Stability. Mission: Impossible

[geek tragedy]

6. We have no constructive role to play

Our internal politics won't allow it.

We need to STFU and let them sort it out.

[modrepub]

8. Keep trying the same thing over and over

The basic argument is that Jews and Muslims can't live together. That's b****t. They've done it in the past and they do it in other areas of the world. Israel's position, putting their boots on the Palestinian's throats and pressing hard, is not a long-term strategy. It's expensive in terms of money and lives. The sooner someone realizes that the big powers have no interest in letting the "little people" live their lives as they see fit the sooner this crap will be over.

I'm beginning to feel that the Israelis and Palestinians deserve each other. My fear is they can't help but drag the rest of us into their squabbles.